Versatile RS100 Suits Body Weights And Skill Levels
SINGLE-HANDING is becoming more and more popular, so manufacturers are producing a wider choice of variants on the single-hander theme and you can have any flavour you like, from little junior single-handers like Oppies to foiling Moths, writes Alan Henderson. Most single-handers are una rigs of fairly modest performance such as the popular Lasers or Solos, while at the other performance end, you can have fast single-handers with trapeze and asymmetric, like the Musto Skiff. You can choose a slow boat which offers big fleets and highly tactical racing, or you can choose a difficult to sail speed machine. So a couple of manufacturers thought there might be a gap in the middle performance band for a hiking boat which is fairly easy to sail, but also has an asymmetric spinnaker for some downwind entertainment. This month’s boat test features the RS100, a boat whose development phase has generated considerable excitement in, and input from, the online boating community. This enthusiasm has carried on since launch and translated into major sales in the boat’s first year. So what is this new class like, which has enjoyed such a propitious birth? It is a boat first of all which is aimed at a broader segment of the market than many pure racing boats. The segment aimed at by RS is broad by body weight, suiting sailors from around 70 right up to 110kg. Unusually, the RS100 offers two possible rigs, and the buyer can choose which one to use, between the 8.4sq.m rig and the 10.2m rig. The spinnaker is the same at 12.5m, as is the hull shape, with no variable size wings to adjust according to your weight. The hull is simple in this sense, with a constant beam of 1.83m. While the beam stays the same, the sailor picks his size of mainsail, and so there are two versions of this new class to suit sailors of different sizes. The two versions have slightly different handicaps, with the 8.4 rated at 1014, and the 10.2 at 1005. The idea is that not only can the RS100 suit a wide range of body weights, but also it can suit a wide range of experience/ability levels. Its design reflects elements of two RS predecessors; the RS300 una rig single-hander, and the RS Vareo asymmetric single-hander. So far, most sales of the RS100 have been to keen racers, but it could also appeal to intermediates stepping up from say a Laser. The RS100 hull length at 4.3m is indeed similar to a Laser, though the broader beam gives it better sail carrying ability. The hull is built in epoxy GRP composite sandwich construction for light weight, stiffness and durability, and the hull weighs in at 55kg before fittings, with the all up weight at 80kg. Shapely moulded in wings, with chines, give an appearance from the bow like a mini 49er. The view from the rear shows the elegant curved sidedecks, curving all the way from gunwhale to the floor. Both foils are lifting type, providing convenience in all waters. Spars are carbon, with the mast a two piece. An extra mast foot extender is added when the 10.2m rig is used. The mast has shrouds, but no forestay, and the shrouds are only there to protect the mast from overbending under spinnaker. So upwind the rig is largely unstayed. Mast bend is applied by a GNAV and the mainsail is Mylar on most of the area, with a Dacron luff panel. The GNAV and cunningham controls are led to cleats on each side of the hull. A tidy on either side takes other controls such as for the centreboard. The mainsheet ratchet and jammer are mounted well forward in the boat and, like much of the hardware, is supplied by Selden. Courtesy of Scottish RS dealer JP Watersports, I had the opportunity to sail and race the boat several times in a mix of conditions. I only used the 8.4m sail, and the consensus so far among RS100 users is that the 10.2m sail is for people a fair bit larger than my 81kg. For the first sail, I elected to keep the kite down in the 15 to 18mph winds, so remarks re my first sail are on the boat under main only. The RS100 immediately felt smooth and secure. It planed smoothly on beam reach, feeling well balanced. It also behaved well on broad reach and run. It showed good speed downwind in these wind conditions, and although designed more for asymmetric zig zagging, the RS100 was able to dead run securely. The RS100 also ran comfortably by the lee, which was quite impressive, as the shrouds limited your ability to let the mainsheet fully out. There was little tendency to bury the bow downwind, despite good size waves, and the only time the boat thought of burying, it lifted back up. So at first you were tempted to sit near the stern, but that actually wasn’t necessary. In fact looking at the wake meant that a position further forward gave a smoother exit, so was faster. So if downwind was fun, then how was it upwind? At first the boat’s pointing was low, sheeting well beyond the quarter. But this boat’s rig is designed to take a generous dose of kicker through its powerful GNAV, so that is what I gave it, which improved the pointing considerably, depowering the sail. The RS100 is one of the most comfortable boats I can remember to sit out. Raiding my memory banks, only an old wooden Graduate with rolled decks came close to the RS100, the toestraps of which are also comfortable, and are nicely raised off the floor. The main sheet jammer is well forward, but also easy to use. The RS100’s progress upwind against waves was not as smooth as downwind, with the boat sometimes tending to bounce into the waves, though less so than Lasers. The RS100 is self draining. At the stern there is a loose traveller, with a mainsheeting arrangement just like the Laser. The loose traveller however can be shortened, one of many options to experiment with in trying to optimise performance. The clew outhaul is on the boom, so not easy to adjust, and having it as a third control to either side would have been a bonus. The two controls led out to either side are the kicker and cunningham, and they are close together, so may be released together at the windward mark. The centreboard moves nicely, with a pull up string led to the sides. The tidy for various other control lines is adequate, and reduces the amount of hardware required. Tacking was simple enough, and the main has only two full length battens near the top. The other battens are false full lengths, so the RS100 is easy to tack and control at low speeds, unlike boats with full battened sails. The Dacron luff section matched the Mylar well, with the shape generally looking nice even after a good deal of kicker is applied. While it was a great initial sail in a good breeze, most of my subsequent sails were in 10mph at best. In these lighter breezes, as with any slow/medium performance asymmetric class, the question is how often can the extra speed generated by heating it up and gybing downwind, overcome the extra distance travelled? I found that both the course size and the downwind leg angles were critical to whether you got full benefit from the kite. To really enjoy the RS100’s potential downwind, you want both good course angles and planing breezes. With the kite set, the RS100 is stable and comfortable, while of course the hoists and drops require care depending on winds, but she has good natural stability while you pull the strings. The boat gybes well under spinnaker, and there is plenty of space in front of the mast, so the sail floats round well. You concentrate on the kite and let the main gybe itself. Coming out of the gybe, the kite fills quickly, thus resisting any tendency to broach. The 100 offers plenty of tuning possibilities, and RS have now released a tuning guide, which owners will benefit from. Mast rake is well worth experimenting with, while an adjustment has now been published to allow greater kicker tension to be applied. The transom traveller may also be shortened. Certainly the rig can take plenty of mast bend, and in windy conditions severely flattening the top section of the sail, while allowing reasonable depth low down in the sail, may be the way to go. Re the RS100’s uses, everyone who tried the boat cruising really enjoyed it, while racing on short club courses could be more challenging. I also enjoyed sailing the boat under mainsail only. So the RS100 could give good fun sailing, not just for racers, while its good manners mean that it is well within the reach of intermediates who are not used to fast boats. They could start by sailing it with mainsail only, as a faster, more fun version of the Laser, then graduating to spinnaker use when they are ready. While it has a variety of sailing qualities and uses, all users will appreciate the boat’s sheer good looks. It may be shallow perhaps, but many owners like a pretty boat, and the RS100 is an unusually good looking boat from any angle, with its shaped wings a stand out feature, and its style is a credit to designer Paul Handley. Racing Sailboats is now a different business to how it was in the 90s, when it launched a series of fast boats which were exclusively aimed at racers. Fifteen years later, RS is far from limited to racing boats, having a series of successful multipurpose boats in its bank of experience, and it now also has a wide network of international dealers. So it’s reasonable to suggest the 100 may appeal to leisure sailors, as well as to hardened racers, while the much improved distribution means that the RS100 has a better chance than its 1990s stablemates to grow quickly into an international class. So far, 45% of boats built have been exported to a variety of markets. As many as 220 orders have been taken for the RS100 since its launch at the Dinghy Show, a remarkable record as most of these were sold ‘unseen’ before the boat was even available in the ‘showroom’. Interest is strong in Scotland, where ten boats have already been sold. Next stage for the class will be development of class racing, and RS have a first Nationals planned for later this summer, plus one or two fixtures abroad. So buyers will have the chance to start racing soon, for example at the class’s first European event in St Tropez in September. A six boat demo trailer will be on the Continent this summer, and early bookers will have the chance to use one of these boats at St Tropez to make attendance easier. • Test sails courtesy of JP Watersports, 0771 2896502.